By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas. Their next, the critically-acclaimed Heaven Up Here, reached the Top Ten in 1981, as did 1983's Porcupine and '84's Ocean Rain. Singles like "The Killing Moon" (later used in the soundtrack to Donnie Darko, a film whose imagery owed much to the artwork of the band's early records.), "Silver," "Bring on the Dancing Horses," and "The Cutter" helped keep the group in the public eye as they took a brief hiatus in the late 1980s. Their 1987 self-titled LP was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.
McCulloch quit the band in 1988. De Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident one year later. The others decided to continue, recruiting Noel Burke to replace McCulloch on vocals in Reverberation (1990), which did not generate much excitement among fans or critics. Burke, Sargeant and Pattinson split after that, but the surviving three fourths of the original band reformed in 1997 and released Evergreen (1997), What are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Flowers (2001) , Siberia (2005), and the latest addition, The Fountain (2009). The group's old audience liked the return to their classic sound, and they also managed to gain a number of new, younger listeners.
Echo and the Bunnymen were managed early on by Bill Drummond, who went on to be a founder member of The KLF.
All in Your Mind
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One of the people
Hands on the money
And your feet on the ground
Shouting out loud
From the top of the steeple
Counting the flock while
Collecting their pounds
In the healing zone
Giving me Fever Fever Fever Fever
Down to my bones
I pray
And nothing happens
Jesus
It's all in my mind
You say
Stop looking for answers
And reasons
They're all in your mind
All in you mind
Covered in flies
And smothered in lava
I can't scratch my itches
With these pumice stone hands
I dream of my days
As a desert farmer
Living my life
On the fat of the sand
All you thieving wheeler dealers
In the healing zone
Giving me Fever Fever Fever Fever
Down to my bones
I pray
And nothing happens
Jesus
It's all in my mind
You say
Stop looking for answers
And reasons
They're all in your mind
All in you mind
Stuck in a world
Losing its way and wonder
I wonder what happened
To the world we knew
Splitting the atom
And feeling its thunder
Could never ever make me
Feel the way you do
You give me Fever Fever Fever Fever
Down to my bones
Fever Fever Fever Fever
In the healing zone
I pray
And nothing happens
Jesus
It's all in my mind
You say
Stop looking for answers
And reasons
They're all in your mind
All in you mind
The song All in Your Mind seems to be a critique of people who are caught up in the rat race of materialism and power. The lyrics describe a person who is proud to be one of the people, but at the same time is a wheeler dealer - one who is driven by greed and desire to accumulate wealth. They are shouting from the top of the steeple, counting the flock while collecting their pounds. The lyrics contain a sense of bitterness and anger towards these types of people who are putting money before everything else. The line "all you thieving wheeler dealers in the healing zone" refers to the fact that these people may appear to be in a position to help or heal others, but in reality, they are only doing it to make a profit.
Despite this criticism, the song also contains a sense of hope. The lyrics suggest that the answers and reasons are "all in your mind". The singer is encouraged to stop looking for answers outside of themselves and to look within for the solution. The line "I pray and nothing happens" could be seen as a metaphor for the fact that sometimes in life, we can't control everything that happens to us, but we can control our own minds and attitudes towards the situation. The chorus suggests that it's up to the individual to take control of their own thoughts and beliefs and not to be swayed by the external world.
Line by Line Meaning
You say your proud to be
You claim to be happy to be
One of the people
Just one of many individuals
Hands on the money
Having close control of the money
And your feet on the ground
Being grounded and realistic
Shouting out loud
Raising one's voice
From the top of the steeple
From a high position or vantage point
Counting the flock while
Using religious symbolism to describe taking advantage of others
Collecting their pounds
Taking their money
All you thieving wheeler dealers
Referring to those who are involved in financial deceit
In the healing zone
In a place where they are supposedly helping or providing relief
Giving me Fever Fever Fever Fever
Causing distress and discomfort
Down to my bones
Affecting me deeply
I pray
I attempt to communicate with a higher power
And nothing happens
But I get no response
Jesus
Using religious terminology to express frustration
It's all in my mind
Feeling like my thoughts or perceptions are the root of the problem
You say
Someone else responds
Stop looking for answers
Advising to stop seeking solutions outside oneself
And reasons
Or logical explanations
They're all in your mind
Suggesting that the answer is within oneself
All in you mind
Repeating the idea of internalizing the solution
Covered in flies
Surrounded by unpleasant or nasty things
And smothered in lava
Feeling suffocated or oppressed
I can't scratch my itches
Unable to alleviate my discomfort or dissatisfaction
With these pumice stone hands
With limited or ineffective means
I dream of my days
Thinking back to a preferable time
As a desert farmer
Imagining a simple lifestyle in a harsh environment
Living my life
Describing an ideal existence
On the fat of the sand
Living a fulfilled, self-sustaining life
Stuck in a world
Feeling trapped in today's society
Losing its way and wonder
The world no longer has a sense of mystery or amazement
I wonder what happened
Curious about how things got to be this way
To the world we knew
We miss the world as we once knew it
Splitting the atom
Referring to a major scientific breakthrough that has not fixed societal issues
And feeling its thunder
Appreciating how significant this discovery is, but still feeling unfulfilled
Could never ever make me
Expressing dissatisfaction despite major achievements
Feel the way you do
Jealous of others' contentment
In the healing zone
Returning to the same metaphor about those who offer false promises of relief
Fever Fever Fever Fever
Again describing the stress and discomfort
I pray
Revisiting the idea of reaching out to a higher power
And nothing happens
But with no end result
Jesus
Returning to the religious terminology as an expression of frustration
You say
Someone else responds again
Stop looking for answers
Reiterating the suggestion to focus on internal solutions
And reasons
And not search for external causes
They're all in your mind
Repeating the notion that the answer is within oneself
All in you mind
Emphasizing the importance of looking inward
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, LESLIE PATTINSON, PETE FREITAS, WILLIAM SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind